Category: Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng

The Finnish League for Human Rights: Is Finland in need of hate crimes prevention law?

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Hate crimes affect members of minority groups all over the world. Some countries take it more seriously than others by passing and enacting hate crime prevention laws, and by investigating suspected cases and prosecuting perpetrators so as to deliver justice to victims. The number of suspected hate crimes registered by Finnish police have increased more than fifty per cent between 2014 and 2015.

Every year since 2008 Finland’s Police University College publishes a report on hate crime based on data of suspected hate crimes reported to the police. The report provides insights into the state of hate crimes in the country. Currently, the Finnish penal code does not define hate crime or racist crime. However, since 2011 the racist motive has been an increasing ground for punishments. Hate motives such as race, skin color, religion or sexual orientation are taken into consideration by courts during sentencing, and they may lead to an enhanced penalty. However, it appears that the police, prosecutors and judges have challenges in recognizing the potential hate motive in the crime process.

Read the full story here.

Current legal measures may not be enough

A total of 1250 suspected cases of hate crimes were brought to the attention of the police in 2015, according to police data. Compared to the previous year the figure represents a 52 percent increase in suspected hate crimes. Majority of suspected cases in 2015 had racist features based on ethnicity and national background.

Continue reading “The Finnish League for Human Rights: Is Finland in need of hate crimes prevention law?”

Zuzeeko’s blog: 1960-style racial abuse in a store in Finland, and silent onlookers

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng*

Things happen in modern-day Finland that look like scenes out of the U.S. in the 1960s when black people, such as 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, were taunted by angry members of the white community who opposed racial integration of public schools.

Ihmisoikeusliitto, a human rights organisation that monitors the human rights situation in Finland, revealed on its Facebook page on 4 September 2014 that one of its workers was followed and verbally attacked in a shop by another customer. According to the Facebook post, the customer followed the human rights workers in a shop and shouted insults as the latter walked away. No one in the shop said anything to the abuser or the abused. Everyone stared as the perpetrator continued the racially motivated abuse — until a security guard took the perpetrator away.

 

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According to Ihmisoikeusliitto, the reason for the taunting was the color of the victim’s skin.

Keep in mind that the reported racist taunting happened is 2014, not 1960. It’s unconscionable that such a thing happens in modern-day Finland, and not a single onlooker lifts a finger.

When I read the Facebook post, the story of Ruby Bridges came to mind.

Ruby Bridges was the first black student to attend a formerly all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960. When public schools were required by federal law to desegregate, she was the first African American to go to William Frantz Elementary School. For security reasons, Ruby was escorted to and from school by U.S. Marshals dispatched by president Eisenhower. White parents and students shouted insults and pointed fingers at Ruby as she went to school under the protection of U.S. Marshals. And white parents rushed their children out of the school in protest. Even teachers refused to teach.

In my view, shouting insults at someone in a public place in Finland because of the color of his or her skin is as shameful as the racially motivated taunting of Ruby Bridges in New Orleans in 1960. The verbal abuse reported by Ihmisoikeusliitto is, to an extent, similar to abuse faced by Ruby Bridges in the 1960s. The only difference lies in the scale of the abuse.

Unlike Ruby, the victim in the shop in Finland was taunted by a single abuser. Although the perpetrator acted alone, the silent onlookers in the shop, I believe, took the side of the perpetrator. My belief that the “spectators” were complicit is hinged on the words of archbishop Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”.

I have argued before in previous blog posts, such as in the piece about the plight of Finland’s black taxi drivers, and I’ll argue again, that blatant racism persists in modern-day Finland because members of the public and people with the power to change things let it persist. Perpetrators are emboldened by the silence of onlookers. People of good conscience and people in positions of authority in Finland should stand up and speak up forcefully against racism. Until then, racists will continue to drag Finland’s international image in the mud by repeatedly perpetrating 1960-style racial abuse in modern-day Finland.Read original blog entry here.

*Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng is an associate editor of Migrant Tales. 

Zuzeeko’s blog: Racist vandalism is costly for Helsinki city

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Perpetrators of racism (racists) give all sorts of reasons in an attempt to justify or explain their twisted perception or treatment of fellow human beings who happen to look different. Sometimes economic reasons are evoked. Some in Finland argue, for instance, that migrants from Africa and elsewhere are “welfare shoppers” who move to the country to tap welfare benefits and deplete state funds. Despite their concerns, many racists go around vandalizing public spaces with racist writings and graffiti — forgetting that cleaning up the mess will be financially costly for the state and the city they seek to “protect” from “invaders”.

Näyttökuva 2014-5-28 kello 21.05.42
Read full blog entry here. 

The City of Helsinki has cleaned up a bus stop (see pictures) that was vandalized with racist writings and drawings.

In a 2011 blog post, I wrote about the ugly face of racism at a bus stop in east Helsinki. The bus stop, which is next to Edupoli — an adult education centre in Hertoniemi, was vandalized with a scary, racist text and drawing of the swastika.

Driving past the bus stop in the spring of 2014 – about three years since the vandalism was first spotted – I noted that the bus stop had been condoned off and work was going on there. A few days later I stopped at the bus stop to see what was happening, and realized that the bus stop had been given a makeover. The vandalized glass at the back had been replaced and everything was looking nice, clean and welcoming to all.

In my mind, I wondered when driving off the bus stop how much the City of Helsinki spent cleaning up the mess left behind by a racist. Although unable to confirm how much was spent renewing the bus stop, I am confident the renovation was not free of charge. The city council must have allocated some money that could have been used for something else – if some disturbed individual hadn’t vandalized that bus stop.

Mindful of the fact that racist vandalism is not uncommon around Helsinki, it is plausible to conclude that the authorities spend lots of money cleaning up and making the city welcoming to all persons, irrespective of race, color, religion or gender.

Personally, I think the actions of racist vandals cost the city money and gives it a bad name. I welcome Helsinki city’s decision to do away with manifestations of racism at the bus stop in Hertoniemi. Although costly, cleaning up makes the city more welcoming and goes a long way to protect the image of Helsinki – World Design Capital 2012. The authorities should get rid of manifestations of racism in other parts of city. Vandals on their part should do their city (our city) a favor — stop messing up public spaces and forcing the city to use resources that could be put to better use.

If racists, who describe themselves these days as “patriots”, truly love their country and care about its economic situation they won’t vandalize public spaces and force city authorities to spend resources cleaning up racist writings and drawings in bus stops and other public spaces.

Read original blog entry here.

*Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng is an associate editor of Migrant Tales. 

Zuzeeko’s blog: Skin color matters in Finland, Yle hidden camera shows

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Dark-skinned people in Finland struggle with discrimination on a daily basis. On week days many struggle in vain to find work related to their studies — or even unpaid internships. Some of those who have given up seeking skilled jobs are sometimes mistreated, disrespected and exploited in odd jobs for which they are overqualified. On weekends many who go out to nightclubs and bars suffer indignities and rejection in the hands of doormen and security guards.

A Yle TV programme scheduled to air on 17 October 2013 at 8 PM (GMT+2) on Yle TV2 uncovers discrimination in everyday life in Finland. According to the programme, skin color makes a difference in Finland when looking for accommodation, in the job market and in nightclub queues.

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Read full blog entry here.

Yle sent out three men – a native-born Finn, an immigrant from Russia and one Somali – to find out how discrimination targets immigrants in everyday life in Finland. According to Yle, all three young men have lived in the country for a long time and speak the local language well, all three had the same cover story related to work experience, income and education. All three applied for a job, applied for accommodation and tried to get into a nightclub under the same conditions.

The programme reveals that at a nightclub, the Somali was denied access by the doorman, while one of the white test team members was let in. At another nightclub the Somali and the Russian immigrant were denied access on grounds that their Finnish driving licences presented as identification were insufficient. The Finnish team member was let in with only a driving licence. The three young men sought the same ten jobs. The native-born Finn was invited to two interviews, the Russian was invited to two and the Somalian was invited to none. A search for rental accommodation also left the Somalian discriminated.

According to the journalist behind the programme, the experiment recorded “clear evidence of discrimination”. The journalist – described by Yle as a “white-skinned Englishman” – was shocked by the results of the experiment.

Personally, I am not shocked by the findings. As a person of African descent who has lived in Finland for over four years, I have faced my share of discrimination. For instance, a couple of years ago, a group of friends and I were denied entry into a nightclub in Helsinki. Of course we thought it was discriminatory and refused to leave the queue. The doorman said he would call the police if don’t leave. Believing that the police won’t allow discrimination, we implored the doorman to call. The police came and told us – to our surprise and disappointment – that doormen have the right to deny us entry. They suggested that we should find another club. I’ve also been denied access to a nightclub on grounds that I didn’t have a [winter] jacket.

In another shocking incident which I experienced first-hand, a young man of Somali origin came out of a nightclub for a smoke. The doormen denied him access when he tried to return. When he insisted they restrained him on the ground and called the police. One of the guards had a knee on the Somali’s head against concrete. When the police came, the Somali was handcuffed and taken into the police van.

In my view, the TV programme by Yle uncovers the plight of the average dark-skinned person in Finland. While it may shock some viewers, I am convinced that dark-skinned people who have lived in the country long enough will relate to the experience of the Somali in the programme and will not be surprised by the abysmal discrimination.

Read original blog entry here.

*Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng is an associate editor of Migrant Tales. 

Zuzeeko’s blog: Minorities in Finland face unequal treatment, even in death

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng*

Family murders are common in Finland and whenever they happen the media mentions the nationality or origin of the perpetrator and the victim. But the origin of the most recent victim of Finland’s string of disturbing family murders was kept under wraps. Some people, including me wonder why.

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On 1 September 2013, a 42-year-old Finnish man killed his wife in their home (see photo) in Nurmijärvi, a town in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The man killed himself thereafter and seriously wounded his slain wife’s 3-year-old daughter.

Finnish media usually reports the nationality of family murder victims, but there seemed to be a cover up in the Nurmijärvi case. In June 2013 the media made no secret of the killing of an Estonian woman by her Finnish partner. The unambiguous report of the June case involving two white Europeans puts into question why a young [African] woman killed in Nurmijärvi under similar circumstances related to domestic violence was merely labelled “maahanmuuttajataustainen” (immigrant background) by news outlets.

According to sources who wish to remain anonymous, the 26-year-old woman of “immigrant background” was from Democratic Republic of Congo.

In my view, it is not by chance that the African victim’s origin was omitted from Finnish news reports. The information blackout was a calculated attempt to avoid speculation by members of the public that the killing was racially motivated. I do not believe that race motivated the killing, since the killer was married to the victim. However, I do believe there was a cover up in a bid to sway public discourse away from the murky waters of immigration and growing racism in Finland. The glaring omission reveals that issues related to people of African descent in Finland are rather swept under the rug.

Otherwise it is incomprehensible why the media identified the Helsinki west harbor victim a few months earlier, for instance, as an Estonian and concealed the origin of the Nurmijärvi victim who happened to be African. Some might consider it an unintentional omission or oversight. But I do not see it that way since all prominent news sites left out the information the last time I checked.

Private individuals are protected by privacy laws and issues like their finances and bank records are usually a no-go area for the media. But Iltalehti took a cheap shot at the Nurmijärvi victim’s reputation by publishing information about her financial difficulties in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In my assessment, it is inappropriate to make national news out of a private individual’s finances, especially when the information has no bearing on a case. Making news of a murder victim’s financial record, which has no bearing on the case, was out-of-the-ordinary, irresponsible and unnecessary.

I have seen a photograph of the slain 26-year-old Congolese. She was young and seemingly full of life. I am sure she will be missed by her family, friends and loved ones. Thanks to independent research and credible sources I can now put a name and face to a slain member of Finland’s visible minority community who was labelled and treated unlike the majority, even in death.

According to a source, a funeral will take place in Jyväskylä on 14 September 2013.

Read original blog entry here.

*Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng is an associate editor of Migrant Tales. 

Zuzeeko’s blog: MPs ignore bigger fish to fry in Finnish society

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng

Public discourse in Finnish online forums and blogs written by far-right elements and Finns Party MPs suggest that immigration is the biggest problem in Finland, but a closer look at Finnish society reveals more pertinent issues that people on the far-right of the political divide ignore, including domestic violence, family killings and violence against women and children.

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Read original posting here.

Populist Finns Party members lead the way in fanning flames of hate against immigrants and other minorities in Finland. They slam immigrants and refugees and portray Muslims as villains. MPs like James Hirvisaari and Jussi Halla-aho have been convicted by Finnish courts for inciting hatred, but they remain defiant. Another notorious MP from the populist right-wing Finns Party, Teuvo Hakkarainen, more recently wrote a controversial blog post in which he described Muslims in Turku as the “worst Jihadists”. It’s worthy to remember that Hakkarainen used the n-word to describe people of African descent in a video interview on his first day in parliament.

From writings and utterances of Finns Party lawmakers (who also happen to be lawbreakers), you would think that immigration is the most serious problem in Finland.

In my view, there are bigger fishes to fry in Finnish society.

Numerous women and children have been killed in Finland as a result of domestic and family violence and the authorities have not done enough to arrest the problem.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, 55 people – including 48 children have been killed since 2003 as a result of family murders and the authorities have not acted adequately. For example, verbal threats of violence are usually not taken seriously. Helsingin Sanomat gathered 11 cases of family murders since 2011 – the most recent being a twin murder in Jyväskylä in August 2013.

The list of family murders doesn’t include the 1 September 2013 case where a Finnish man killed his immigrant wife and seriously wounded her three-year-old daughter with a handgun, nor the 15 June 2013 killing of an Estonian woman in broad daylight by her Finnish partner in a parking lot in Helsinki’s west harbor.

By my rough count, there have been three cases of family-related murders in less than three months this year – resulting in death of three women. This, in my assessment, is a more serious societal problem than immigration.

Finns Party MPs and other proponent of extreme views shared by Norway’s mass murderer Anders Breivik shouldn’t waste durable time in parliament taking cheap shots at immigrants and refugees. They should focus on tackling crippling societal problems like alcoholism, domestic violence and family killings.

A disturbing report revealed that a homicide is committed in Finland every third day. Majority of the perpetrators are discriminated, unemployed and alcoholic men. According to the report, more homicides are committed in Finland than in any other Nordic country.

MPs like Hakkarainen, Hirvisaari and Halla-aho focus on inciting hatred and shy away from discussing life-threatening problems that plague their constituencies. Perhaps, given their track record, the MPs would address the issues if perpetrators were mostly Muslims, immigrants, Roma or other minorities.

Read original blog entry here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

Zuzeeko’s blog: Finland – Discrimination accounts for high Somali unemployment

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng

Somalis are among the largest groups of immigrants in Finland. They are also among the largest unemployed group of immigrants in the country. Many people [mistakenly] think that the high rate of unemployment among Somalis is because they are not willing to work. This, in my view, is not the case.

Kuvankaappaus 2013-6-24 kello 15.04.55Read original posting here.

Somalians in Finland have been stereotyped as lazy and depend on social welfare, despite numerous news reports that of all immigrants in Finland, Somalis (including those with language skills and a profession) find it most difficult to find work.

During the Midsummer weekend, I had a discussion with a couple of people about the employment situation of Somalis in Finland. The majority of those involved in the discussion promulgated the view that most people of Somali origin are unemployed because of lack of education, “laziness” and dependence on KELA, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.

In my opinion, the assertion is incorrect, stereotypical and sheds light on widespread prejudice and negative attitudes towards Somalis in Finland.

According to a report by Yle, the highest rates of immigrant unemployment in 2010 were among Somalis, Iraqis and Afghans who arrived Finland as refugees. The rate of unemployment for the three nationalities  stood at over 50%.

The Director of Immigration Affairs for the City of Helsinki pointed out in the Yle report that “discrimination is clearly the big reason” for the high rate of unemployment among Somalis. According to the director, “of those who have been here 15 to 20 years, half have completed degrees in Finland”.

The director’s statement debunks the assertion that Somalis in Finland are unemployment because they are uneducated, lazy and enjoy being dependent on KELA.

In my view, employer discrimination and negative attitudes towards Somalis account for the high rate of unemployment among Finland’s largest group of Africans.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, one reason for the high rate of unemployment among immigrants in Finland is the fact that Finnish employers regard Finnish education and Finnish work experience as better than foreign equivalents. But immigrants from Somalia experience difficulties finding work, despite the fact that many of them have Finnish education. According to researcher Tuula Joronen, negative attitudes and impressions account for the phenomenon.

As high as 58% of Somali immigrants in Finland were unemployed at the end of 2003. [Source] The unemployment rate stood at 43.3% in 2008. [Source]

In 2010 and 2011, the risk of unemployment was highest among Somali speakers than among any other language group in Finland – according to Statistics Finland. Followed by high risk among Arabic, Persian and Kurdish speakers.

A poll revealed that Somalis and Muslims are among the groups most affected by racism and intolerance in Finland.

It is plausible to conclude from the aforementioned that prejudice, negative attitudes and employer discrimination against Somalis partly account for the high rate of unemployment in the Somali community. Many Somalis have learnt Finnish language and many have Finnish degrees and training. They should be employed without discrimination.

There was a total of 7,468 Somalians in Finland in 2012.

Read original blog entry here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

 

City of Helsinki shouldn’t contract companies exploiting foreign workers

Posted on by Migrant Tales

By Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng

Foreign workers in the cleaning services sector in Finland face exploitation and abuse from employers and sometimes from customers. The authorities, including city councils that award cleaning contracts to companies that violate employment rules and collective agreements share the blame.

cleanersImage: The Copenhagen Post

According to a Yle report, work safety inspections conducted in about 20 cleaning companies that employ foreign workers revealed problems at every company inspected, and the City of Helsinki is considering contracting the services of one of the companies.

Violations uncovered by inspections carried out this year include irregularities in registering work hours, payment irregularities and employment of workers without work permits.

As a foreign national with experience and connections in Finland’s cleaning sector, I am not surprised by news that inspections turned up problems in every cleaning company inspected. What is surprising to me is that the City of  Helsinki is considering contracting a company that violates employment standards.

In my view, companies that do not register work hours exploit workers – intentionally or unintentionally – by not remunerating all work hours since some hours “slip through the cracks”. Payment irregularities could mean workers are not paid as per their work contracts and collective agreements. For instance, some foreign employees work without a fixed payment date, hence they can’t plan payment of bills, rents and other living expenses because they don’t know when they’ll be paid.

Workers employed without work permits, in my opinion are vulnerable and subject to exploitation and abuse since they mostly work in hiding and cannot take legal action against exploitation and abuse. Employers take advantage of undocumented workers.

Background checks

The City of Helsinki and all other authorities in Finland, including private sector businesses requesting bids should ensure that bidding companies respect labor laws and collective agreements before contracting their services. This can be done by working closely with labor inspectors and trade unions.

Service suppliers should be subjected to background checks before bid contracts are accepted.

In 2009 I wrote a complaint to the City of Espoo about the exploitation of workers (mostly Africans and Chinese) by a cleaning company operating in Espoo. In reply to my complaint a lawyer at the City of Espoo said, that before contracting companies the city ensures that the companies comply with labor laws and collective agreements. It was hard to believe the lawyer because the company in question, in my assessment, violated many labor standards and collective agreements in the cleaning services sector, including the obligation to register hours spent on the job by all employees. (Read my story, in Finnish, on PAM-lehti).

Exploitative companies that disregard labor regulations, collective agreements and workers’ rights should not be given contracts. Contracting such companies sends a wrong message that exploitation of foreign workers is acceptable in Finland.

Read original blog entry here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.

Zuzeeko’s blog: Ask Finland’s Minister of Interior to stop detention of innocent children

Posted on by Migrant Tales

Zuzeeko Tegha Abeng

The International Convention on the Rights of the Child – to which Finland is party – outlaws the detention of children, unless as a last resort and for the shortest possible time (see article 37[b]) and obligates States Parties to ensure that a child seeking asylum receives appropriate protection and assistance (see Article 22). Despite obligations under international law, Finland detains, as a first resort, children seeking asylum for long periods of time.

Amnesty International, Finnish section, launched a petition to stop detention of children seeking asylum in Finland.

According to Amnesty International, children should be in day care centres, schools or skateparks – not in police detention. Finland detains thousands of people yearly, including people who have fled persecution, war or poverty. They are held in prison-like conditions, although guilty of no crime.

There are children seeking asylum in Finland who live behind closed doors on a daily basis.

I have signed Amnesty International’s petition asking Minister of Interior Päivi Räsänen whether innocent children belong in police prisons. I believe children should be in homes, preschools, schools and playgrounds – not locked up.

Detention is not in the best interest of a child.

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Sign the Amnesty International petition here. Finnish Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen.

Amnesty’s petition urges Minister Räsänen to:

  1. Fulfill the promise to stop detention of unaccompanied children.
  2. Immediately terminate detention of all children, expectant mothers and people traumatized by torture.
  3. Ensure that detention is used only as a last resort and for the shortest possible time. Detention places should develop less restrictive alternatives.
  4. Ensure that Finland comply with human rights obligations in detention.
According to Amnesty International, the government of Finland promised in 2011 to forbid the detention of unaccompanied children and to develop alternatives to detention. The promise was written in the government’s program, but it has not been fulfilled. Alternatives to detention have not yet been developed and children are still detained.
Amnesty International states that seeking asylum or a better life is not a crime and detained asylum seekers are not criminals.I have visited Metsälä Detention Centre, one of the facilities where asylum seekers in Finland are detained. It is located in Helsinki and I can confirm that the facility is like a prison. Children are detained there. It has one “playground” with no appropriate recreational facilities for kids.

In my view, the Metsälä facility is called a “detention centre”, but it is in fact a prison. It is no place for children, especially children who have done absolutely nothing wrong.

Read original blog entry here.

This piece was reprinted by Migrant Tales with permission.